Nationalism and Folklore Studies

This article establishes a precise relationship between folklore and ethno-nationalism. In particular, it argues that the discursive elements of folklore have been used, as political narrative, within the history of Basque nationalism. The Basque nationalist movement, throughout its history, has been especially adept at harnessing the rhetorical power of language, history, myth and memory in its articulation of a Basque, as opposed to a Spanish, identity. The article concentrates on the specific information selected for transmission by the ideology of Basque nationalism. It is this articulation which establishes links between past and present, myth and ideology, and the relationship between culture and identity in the human experience. These are the bonds which are perhaps most pertinent to the general cause of ethno-nationalism, and the Basque case in particular.

The study of the language of publication of folklore offers a unique perspective on the sociolinguistic history of regional languages in 19th century France as well as on the wider cultural context of contemporary folklore collection. Regional languages had a subordinate sociolinguistic status vis-à-vis French, yet they had preserved a richer folklore heritage, which, during the golden age of folklore collection, was also considered to be a valuable part of French national cultural heritage. The fact that the folktales of regional languages were often published first or only in French translation reflects both the hegemonic position of French and the prevailing contemporary perception of folktales primarily as a universal human cultural inheritance rather than as the literary heritage of specific cultures; folktale publications were typically aimed at a wider national readership and the perceived universal content – tale types and motifs – was considered more important than the linguistic form and cultural context. However, the fact that folktale and above all folksong collections were also published in the original regional languages shows that there was a genuine choice of language of publication. The publication of folktales only in translation was controversial because the lack of original texts – as well as a lack of transparency concerning the collection process – potentially undermined the authenticity of the published folklore. The publication of folklore only in translation also resulted in the loss of an important part of the cultural heritage of the regional languages and its effective appropriation as French national and French language cultural heritage.

Today, we face a constantly increasing tendency to national self-construction in culture and politics in almost every country in Europe. In conjunction with these events, the project queries the function of folklorism within the formation of political beliefand value systems. With Eva Arnqvist, No Corruption (founded by Roza El-Hassan), Annika Eriksson, Andreas Fogarasi, Jeremy Deller & Alan Kane, Jens Haaning, Martin Krenn, Eva Linder, Mari Laanemets & Killu Sukmit, Eva Labotkin, Christian Philipp Müller, Ilona Németh, Audrius Novickas, Joanna Rajkowska, R.E.P. (Kseniya Gnylytska, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Volodymyr Kuznetsov, Lada Nakonechna, Olesia Khomenko), Erzen Shkololli, Sean Snyder, Helene Sommer, Jaro Varga.
Grazer Kunstverein, 2012.

Modern ideolojilerin -Aydınlanma düşüncesinden ulus-devlet ideolojisine ve hatta klasik Marksist ideolojiye-  özne ve insan merkezli düşüncelerin eleştirilmesi ve kullanılan bu kavramların altlarının teker teker oyulmasıyla istikrarsızlaşmasının sonucu olarak beden işlevsel bir araç olmanın ötesine geçmiştir. Üzerinde tarihler boyunca maruz kaldığı inşaların izini taşıyan beden, özellikle modern öznelerin yaratımı sürecinin birincil tanığı olarak karşımızda şimdi. Bu metin de benzer şekilde bedenin tanıklığına başvurarak ve hikâyelerini değerlendirerek Geç Osmanlı ve cumhuriyetin erken döneminde modern toplumun oluşturulma süresince etkili olan beden politikalarını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Beden politikalarının tüm insan edimlerinin içine sızmış, oldukça geniş bir alanı kapladığı göz önünde bulundurularak, spor, beden eğitimi ve folklor gibi doğrudan bedene yönelen inşalardan bahsedilecektir. 19.yüzyıl sonlarında başlayıp 20.yüzyıl boyunca etkisini kaybetmeden devam eden bu politikalar, sporu, folklorü ve dansı ulus-devlet ideolojisi içinde araçsallaştırmış ve dilini bu yönde inşa etmiştir. Terbiye-i bedeniye politikalarından, ‘Türk Halk Oyunları’ repertuarının hazırlanmasına kadar günümüzde normalleşmiş olan birçok yapının temelleri bu dönemde atılmıştır.

Please note: this paper is an unpublished draft that was written before 2005 and last checked in 2015, so it is definitely not the last word on this topic. It has not been reviewed, copyedited, or presented at a conference. I added it to Academia.edu in case some of the older references in it might be useful to students/researchers. If you wish to cite my analysis in the paper, here is the recommended citation:

Stark, Laura. 2015. The tales Lönnrot told: ethnography, rhetoric and strategy in the construction of the epic-maker’s authority. Unpublished article draft. https://jyu.academia.edu/LauraStark/Drafts